But then Olivia thought of the journal she had read, the life Faith led, the things Olivia and so many others had not known about the public version of Faith. The death of Faith’s little sister, how that loss had reminded Olivia of what felt like the death of her own mother, who had now decided to live permanently in Paris.
Suddenly it was clear to Olivia that Faith must have, indeed, faked her own death. How? Olivia was not sure. Did it matter? Faith clearly needed to escape. And Olivia appeared to be the only human on earth who knew it.
“I read your journal, Faith. The one in the weather office. It breaks my heart about your little sister. I’m so, so sorry. That still has to be so hard.”
“You read my…?” Faith whispered as she wiped at the tearsthat were now making their way steadily down her cheeks. “How did you do that?”
“I had a few chances to poke around the weather office.”
“Wow… you are a crafty one. You know, I almost took that journal with me but I figured all of my personal belongings would just go to Hope anyway and they did. They sent them all in a cardboard box.”
There was silence for a few moments before Faith added, “You can’t even imagine the pain of losing Charity. Honestly, I think about it every single day.”
“Did you fake your death because you needed to escape?” Olivia asked softly. If that was the case, she felt empathy. Olivia had thought once or twice about dropping out of college when the workload became too hard. After her parents got divorced the pain was so raw she fantasized about having a rabbit hole to disappear into. She had even imagined taking her own life once or twice, mostly to envision the number of people at her funeral who would say nice things about her.
Faith was quiet for a moment but then looked directly at Olivia and said, “I haven’t told anyone but my sister this. Yes, it was all too much, all of it. I just… I just didn’t even want to be on TV anymore, can you even believe that?”
“I actually can,” said Olivia. “After doing the internship all summer I see what you talent have to go through. Producers never get recognized, in some ways it’s a lot easier being behind the scenes.”
Faith took a long sniff and spoke again.
“Thank you for understanding that. Most people think talent like me have the best jobs in the world. But… you haven’t fully answered my question, Olivia. Are you going to turn me in?Everyone in Detroit thinks I’m… you know… Please don’t turn me in.”
Olivia looked at Faith, a shell of her former “Fair-Weather Friend” persona. She seemed like a small and very vulnerable woman. The psychology class Olivia took the semester before the internship came back to her, especially the part about childhood trauma and how that affects us our entire lives. The professor had said, “If you ever have a chance to help someone who has endured true childhood trauma, please do it. You will be a powerful force for good and change in the world. It’s one of the deepest traumas a person can endure.”
Olivia made up her mind. She shook her head.
“I’m not going to turn you in,” she said.
Faith’s face registered shock.
“You’re not… but why?”
“After what you’ve been through, consider this an act of charity. And perhaps it’s in honor of your sister Charity too. Go live your life, Faith.”
Faith started crying so hard that Olivia had to hold her to keep her from toppling over. Olivia couldn’t stop her own tears from flowing either and the two women held on to each other for a long time in the bus shelter.
“Thank you, oh thank you, thank you so much,” said Faith when she caught her breath. “I will never forget this kindness, ever. I promise to pay it forward. You are amazing. I’m so indebted to you. What can I do for you? Do you want my money?”
Olivia recoiled. “No, I don’t want your money.”
“Do you want to get into the TV business? I can offer some advice. I would give you a reference but obviously that’s not possible anymore.”
“To be honest, after my internship I’m not even sure I want to be in TV anymore. Certainly not on air. Maybe a producer, like an investigative producer.”
“You’d be pretty good at that.” Faith chuckled through her tears, and they looked at each other. “I can’t believe you recognized me. I tried so hard to hide. I should have worn my glasses tonight, even if they are broken. I’m so stupid.”
“You’re not stupid, Faith. If you want to know the truth, it was your walk. It’s distinctive. Maybe practice a different gait.”
“My walk…” Faith mused. “I hadn’t even thought about that.”
“Listen,” said Olivia. “You’re not the only one who’s been hiding something. I actually have several confessions to make to you. Do you remember that note you gave me in the parking lot the day you disappeared? I feel awful, but something made me open it in the women’s room on my way back to the newsroom. I then started looking to see if the people on the note were suspects. I feel terrible about opening it, though, and violating your orders. I should have just handed it to Tom.”
“My sister… She was right about the note…” said Faith softly.
“What do you mean?”
“She worried all along that you read it. I told her I didn’t think you had. You fooled me.”
